The New York Knicks have had a season to remember so far following their best regular season finish in 10 years. Their 47-35 record saw them finish as 5th seed for the playoffs, returning after failing to qualify in 2022. They have had a successful start so far, making light work of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round with a 4-1 series win. This saw them through to the Semifinals of the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2013. As of writing they are tied 1-1 with the Miami Heat in the Semi’s and DraftKings NBA Championship odds page cannot separate the two teams, both at +2800 to win the Championship this season.
While the Knicks have performed very well overall with plenty of great team performances throughout the season, there is a player who has stood out at Madison Square Garden this postseason. Jalen Brunson arrived in New York during the offseason from the Dallas Mavericks and the move came with its fair share of controversy. However, Brunson was ecstatic to have joined his hometown team and the fans were eager to see what the two-time NCAA champion could bring to the team.
The Villanova alumni had a decorated college career, winning the Bob Cousy Award, National college player of the year, Big East player of the year and two NCAA championships during his time in Pennsylvania. He was drafted 33rd overall by the Mavs, featuring mainly as a bench player for this first three years in Dallas before becoming a starter in 2021. He entered free agency at the end of that season after what many Mavs fans considered a complete mishandling of his contract.
Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal in July 2022. Their biggest acquisition in quite some time, he is now the highest earner on the team with a base salary of around $27,733,332. This meant there had to be some roster reshuffling in New York in order to get their man. Fans were excited over the deal with Brunson on the up, coming off the back of his best point scoring season in the league. However, it later came to light that the Knicks had begun free-agency discussions with the player before the date permitted by the NBA. For this, the league penalized the Knicks a second-round selection in the 2025 draft.
His performances since his arrival however make that a small price to pay. He outdid some of his previous best regular season numbers in significant fashion, averaging 24.0ppg and 6.2 assists. Of other point guards in the league there were only eight with a better ppg in the 2023 regular season. His ball handling skills are excellent and though he is on the shorter side at 6’1 his strength and quickness allow him to utilize mismatches. His FG% during the regular season was very strong amongst guards at 49.1%. He had the best deep-shot form of his career this season too, shooting at a 41.6 3pt%, averaging 2.0 per game.
As well as establishing himself as a great shooter, he has formed great partnerships with his teammates. With Brunson in tow, power forward Julius Randle enjoyed his best shooting season to date, averaging 25.1. With Brunson taking on more playmaking responsibility it has freed up Randle’s shooting. In fact, Brunson’s 6.2apg is the best regular season average of any Knicks player since Raymond Felton averaged 9.0 in the 2010-2011 season. He also go to link up with his former Vilanova teammate Josh Hart after he was traded to New York from the Portland Trail Blazers in February to which he had a very wholesome reaction.
He is now leading the Knicks’ charge through the playoffs and was the standout performer in their first round series against Cleveland. He averaged 24.0ppg throughout the five games played. This despite Randle having a relatively disappointing showing throughout having managed just 31 points combined in the final three games, averaging 14.4 throughout the series. It seems he was the missing piece of the puzzle in New York and his bumper contract is already proving to be worth the outlay.
Brunson has clearly elevated this Knicks team and improved the players around him since his arrival. Their performances in the regular season were strong and their postseason form has left fans dreaming of their first finals appearance in 23 years. This is the best team to have called MSG home in quite some time and if they can continue this form throughout their series with Miami and beyond then they are capable of becoming a real force.